William McFadzean

William McFadzean (9 October 1895-1 July 1916) was a British Army rifleman who served in the Ulster Division during World War I. He posthumously received the Victoria Cross for his heroism at the Battle of the Somme, during which he was killed.

Biography
William Frederick McFadzean was born in Lurgan, County Armagh, Ireland on 9 October 1895, and he enlisted in the Ulster Division of the British Army during World War I, having previously served in the East Belfast Regiment of the UVF. On 1 July 1916, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, a box of hand grenades slipped into a crowded trench, and McFadzean heroically threw himself on top of the grenades, blowing himself to pieces but preventing any of his comrades from being killed in what could have been a mass-casualty explosion. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery.